Ever the Same Alternate Season 2
by witchling
Summary: Beginning as Manticore burns circumstances have changed for Max. And her everpresent annoyance of a breeding partner is along for the ride.
1. Whole nother level of crazy

Disclaimer: None of this is mine, except for the randomness of the ideas. The characters belong to someone else. Who? I dunno. Don't care either. Just not me. And the song is "Ever the Same" by Rob Thomas, which is, just for the record, also not mine. Honestly I don't know why we have to have disclaimers all the time. It's a FAN fiction site. Usually owners/writers, write elsewhere. Like for TV.

A/N: This is AU. In my world Alec and Max met in Manticore and became friends, often bickering, angry friends, but friends nonetheless. He had nothing to do with Max getting the virus, but it exists because let's face it, it allows me to have Max-with-someone-else angst without actually having to have her and Logan… well you know. Ugh.

Okay, so this is going to be snapshots into my brain, er, the life of Max and Alec in season 2. They're set to song lyrics (yet again). Some bits might not make sense just yet, but will be explained as more chapters get written. And as for those waiting for the last chapter of "Good Girl" well… wait. Sorry but I'm having difficulties.

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**We were drawn from the weeds**

**We were brave like soldiers**

**Falling down under the pale moonlight**

"Oh my god!" She screamed as the explosion rang through the air. She shot foreword to… do something, anything, but a hand gripped her arm firmly. The sound was followed more. Loud and abrasive, the sounds echoed through the military complex. "I told him not to send the broadcast!" she shrieked. It was frustrating not to be able to stop the explosions.

"Nothing we can do Max." Alec let go of her. There truly was nothing they could do even if he wanted to, and he did. It may have been just a prison to her, but it was his home. Manticore was the only home he had ever known. And it was burning down around him.

"Alec, why is no one leaving? No one is in the halls at all?"

"FUCK! They've locked the barracks! They're trying to burn us all alive!" He had known that the people who ran Manticore were sick. Sick, twisted, demented perverts the lot of them, but burning their playthings alive? That brought the insanity to a whole other level. And creating human-animal hybrid child soldiers was a level that was already pretty high up there.

Alec took off down the hall, "Max, we have to unlock the barracks; we have to explain what's going on!" He headed further into the maze of corridors, Max right behind them. At this moment they were lucky that Alec knew the layout of the building, even the TAC personnel and the medical staff's private rooms, like the back of his hand. God, he was just lucky he was allowed the privilege of wandering the halls at night or else HE would've been in the barracks screaming to be let out. Being a Commanding Officer had its perks.

"Where's the Command room Alec? We don't have much time!" Just as she said that he disappeared into a room just ahead and to the left.

"You unlock the barracks, I've gotta leave a message, tell them what's going on." His fingers were madly grasping at every button, lever and key, trying to discern which ones where necessary to the task at hand.

"Give them a contact number so we can get in touch if we need to." Alec paused his search and looked at her oddly. She seemed sad, thoughtful. "You don't know how difficult it is to be suddenly on your own in a world you don't understand. They'll need that connection. At least the hope of a connection."

"Attention all transgenics, this is X5-494. Manticore has locked the barracks, and set fire to the facility. I repeat: they are trying to kill us. X5-452 and I are attempting to unlock the doors. They WILL shoot at us when we escape the building." Max looked at him, worried. This was going to be so bad. She could kill Logan right about now. "X5's take out the towers, X6's the TAC officers holding ground in the exercise yard. Anyone over X6, exit the building and wait for the all-clear. Then it's escape and evade. This is not a drill. Command has betrayed us."

With that the doors swung open and the hallways filled with gasping transgenics. Coughing and sputtering sounds reached the pair in the control room.

"Alec, the contact number!" Max grabbed his arm, desperate that he should understand how important this was, not just to her but to all of them. It was a lonely world without your own kind. And it would be easy to lose all connection to reality. It had happened before.

"The only message you should heed is from 452 or myself. Manticore signals will try and gather us. But they tried to kill us tonight and I know some of us won't make it, so the only safe communication is from X5-452 or myself! Understand soldiers?" The blessing of being so highly trained was that Max and Alec could hear the loud, certain call of "Yes sir" echoing throughout the hallways. The last thing to be done was destroy the system so that no one else could send a message. The guards that had heard it would most likely be dead and no transgenic would give up their kind. The speakers sparked as a fist shot through them. The rest of the controls got the same treatment. Sparks were flying everywhere. Max grabbed Alec's hand; she looked up at him and their eyes met.

"Come on soldier boy, we've gotta go now."

As soon as they entered the hallway, they came face to face with the crushing reality of the situation. Transgenics were shuffling towards the exits. Max had never realized exactly how many of them Sandeman had created. Smoke was everywhere and transgenics were only prevented from panicking and trampling each other by strict discipline and extensive training. Still, looking into the eyes of a little girl who could be no more than four, Max saw the terror she knew would be reflected in her own eyes.

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The night had started out with such hope. She had escaped! Alec, her erstwhile breeding partner had come up with an excuse not to visit her tonight so he wouldn't be re-indoctrinated after her escape. She had run to Logan. Logan had kissed her. She had only kissed Logan a few times before and she had to admit, it had retained the awkward feel of a first kiss. Grasping and unsure, it was not quite what she'd been hoping for. And then the spots. The dizziness. Logan had dropped to the floor. It had all happened in under a minute.

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Alec shoved his way to the front of the throng. It was his place. It was his responsibility. He needed to be in the thick of the fight. Some of his unit were there, 511 and 271 had taken out the East Tower. 549, 325 and 670 were in the process of eliminating the resistance from the West Tower. Alec surmised that right now it was the x6's who needed help. There were bodies everywhere, mostly those of the TAC officers. But one head of curly red hair, covered in blood caught Alec's eye. X6-073 hadn't made it. He dove into the fight, brutal and furious.

Max entered the exercise yard. It was chaos; a surprisingly well organized chaos. Alec was right in the center of it all. Watching them made Max realize just how rusty she was. She had improved in the months at Manticore. Ass-kicking she could do, training, sparring, a few maneuvers were not a problem but this… this was war. At that moment out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a guard with a knife, desperation in his eyes, he sought to take out the one thing he thought he could: the little girl next to Max. Before she knew it, the guard's lifeless eyes were staring back at her from the cold ground. Max shuddered at what she'd done. She had spent so long trying to get rid of that part of herself, trying to outrun the nightmares that to kill again was almost disturbing. But she looked down at the child and she knew it was right. She couldn't do much to help the situation, everyone was running into the forest freely now. But Max could protect this one child. And she would be damned if anything happened to her. Max picked her up, held her close against her body and ran.

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The fight was over. Alec had climbed to the top of the hill overlooking Manticore, hell on earth, the only home he'd ever known. He had watched them finish killing Manticore personnel. He watched them band together for support. And then he watched them run away. Swift blurs through the forest. Some saluted as they passed him, no doubt confused as to why he just stood and watched the building burn. Finally everyone was gone. Except Max. She saw him and turned to stand beside him. His eyebrow arched at the bundle she held on her hip, a small bald child with eyes wide in wonder. Or maybe it was horror. She'd seen her entire life destroyed tonight too. Max glared at him. Who was he to question what she did? His lips twitched as he suppressed a smile. Luckily the sight in front of him made it easy.

They stood on the hill, looking down at the destruction. It was a nice night, cool, crisp but not cold. The leaves were beginning to turn colours and the moon was bright. It illuminated the exercise yard beautifully. It was still, quiet .Their fellow transgenics had disabled or killed all those guarding the perimeter and were now mostly gone. There was blood on the ground. Some of them had died. It was by no means a victory.

"Alec I'm sorry. He didn't know. He couldn't have known when he pressed the button that they'd do this." Her words were hollow and she knew it. Whether Logan had known or not, their people had still been shot at. Their people were still dying. It was the same with the escape; they hadn't known the trouble they would cause for the others but the damage was done. Max didn't know how to console him. She looked down at their entwined hands and shut her mouth. Nothing she could say would make it better; he just had to know that she was there. She was hurting too but somehow it would be okay again.

Alec didn't want those words, that consolation. Her hand felt nice in his. It was comforting and undemanding in its own way. He didn't want trite words or false sentiments. She didn't know how he felt, couldn't possibly know. And it didn't matter anyway. That Logan hadn't intended it meant nothing to him. How any of them, including Log-boy, felt was beside the point. Manticore was burning. In his mind's eye he could still see transgenics running, fading away into the trees and he wondered if that would be the last time he'd see them. He understood now how Max had needed her Ordinaries. They were all she had for so long. They would all have to find new lives. They were all alone now.

"Come on Maxie, loverboy needs his medicine." There was nothing left here but a husk of a home that would always haunt him. It was time to go.

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To Be Continued…

Thanks to everyone who reviews in advance! And just so you know my plan may change at any time. Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.


	2. Ascension to the Babblers Hall of Fame

A/N: Okay, I know the "Max has a child" thing has been done to death but I hope this one is a little different. I am letting you all know that I stole her name from the story "The New Addition" by Special-buddy-zip. I hope you don't mind Special-buddy! It was just too cute.

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If Max felt only one thing leaving the woods surrounding Manticore it was grateful. She had somewhere to go. She was the lucky one. She had lived half her life in the world; she had an apartment, she had a job, she had friends, she had a… she had Logan. Logan. When she was first captured all she thought about him all the time. And Zack. Logan and Zack, the two most important men in her life, were both gone. When she was captured it hadn't been _her_ life. She had forfeited it to them. But well… that had been months ago. The only way to make her life her own was to embrace it. Sort of. Maybe not embrace so much as get within two-feet comfortably.

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Only a very few times in Alec's life had he ever been confused about exactly what he should do. Manticore had always been about orders and discipline, figuring out a plan of action had been limited to missions. Even then they were always given strict parameters. Alec was a CO, tough but fair, strong, excellent at following orders. Freedom was daunting. So he did what any good soldier would do: follow someone who knows what they're doing and make the rest up as you go along. He was going with Max. She was up ahead, stomping through the forest towards a main road. The kid's head was tucked into Max's shoulder and she was watching him with big green eyes. Cat's eyes. The kid was tiny, pretty though. The kid… the kid?

"Hey kid, what's your designation?"

Max felt the girl stiffen. Her head popped out of the curve in her neck and she made her little body as straight as possible considering her position.

"X9-829 Sir!" Alec saw Max's hand gently circle the little girl's back but could make out nothing but indistinct murmurs of comfort from her lips. Whatever she'd said, the kid relaxed.

"Don't worry little one; you don't need to stand at attention anymore. As you no doubt saw tonight, we're no longer at Manticore. Those rules don't apply anymore. And don't call him sir. He's Alec."

"But you can call me 'Alec the Magnificent' okay twerp? Everyone does." He wiggled his eyebrows exaggeratedly.

"Do not call him anything of the sort. No one calls you that except yourself every morning. Dick." Max sounded stern. Alec scrunched up his face and imitated her.

829 smiled. She had a big goofy grin. Alec could see all of her little baby teeth. Her big eyes were sparkling.

"How old are you?" Max turned 829 so she could get a better look at her. From this close she could see the dark stubble of hair on her head. It was, she guessed, a week since she'd been shaved.

"I'm three. What's your designation?" Max chuckled. She was going to be a curious little monster, that much Max was sure of.

"X5-452. But call me Max. That's my name. You need a name too." She could almost hear Alec's eyes rolling behind her. "Shut up Alec. She does."

"I didn't say a thing." He grinned. 829 grinned cheekily back.

"Why do I need a name? I have a designation. I've never had a name before," a little voice piped up to interrupt their argument-in-the-making.

"Out in the real world everybody has names. And that's where we're going, so you need a name too." Max explained. She liked the name thing. She knew others thought it was a bit stupid (mostly Alec), but it made her feel better to call people by names rather than designations.

"The real world, is that where we're going? Cause it looks like the middle of nowhere to me." For that comment he received a dirty look.

"Shut up Alec. Or I'll kick your ass." She faced 829 again. "Why don't you think about it and tell me if you hear one you like. I'd do it myself but assh… Alec here would complain."

"Maxie Maxie Maxie, one evening out of Manticore and you're already sassing your CO? Tsk tsk. And I wouldn't call it complaining. It was more like disapproving of your choices. I just couldn't in good conscience let you do that to the twerp."

"I never stopped 'sassing' you, you ass. And we're not heading to the middle of nowhere. We're heading towards the road. I figure we'll hitch a ride from there. 'Disapproving of my choices' my ass. Conscience? You? Since when? Oh and don't call me 'Maxie'!"

"Um, I know strategy wasn't your forte, but don't you think they'll be looking for us? By the way, I most certainly do not disapprove of your choice of ass." 829's eyes darted from one to the other as the repartee flew fast and furiously.

"Shut up. Not yet, and even if whoever gives us a ride remembers us when they ask, they'll only be driving us into the city. From there we can steal a car. I'm not stupid."

"But Maxie, I have blood on my shirt from the fight. Don't you think that'll look suspicious?"

"You don't like the plan? Then you don't need to come. What did I say about calling me Maxie asshole?" Alec didn't even need to consider his options, he knew he was sticking with Max at least until they got to Seattle, but he figured she didn't need to know that. He put on his best contemplative face.

"Well, at least let me hold the twerp to hide some of the blood." Max scrunched up her nose in distaste.

"Alec, what's with calling her 'the twerp'?"

"Is the brat better?"

"Don't call her a brat!"

"Ankle-biter?" He knew he was starting something that would more likely then not end in a smack but it was pretty much uncontrollable. His urge to irritate her had begun the first time he had laid eyes on her and had yet to show any signs of abating.

"No!"

"Nipper, bairn, nurseling, toddler, munchkin, baby…" He never felt more alive then when he was facing death, preferably by her hands. She lit up when she was angry. Her eyes got darker and shot daggers at unsuspecting smart-asses. And in his case a not so unsuspecting smart-ass.

"Alec!" Her tone was flat and her hands were balled tight. Alec however was looking deceptively relaxed, smiling openly but perching on the balls of his feet, preparing for an attack.

"Babe, bambino, bundle of joy, tot, chick, dumpling, papoose, tadpole, youngster, small fry, tyke, cub, she-devil, rascal, urchin…"

"Alec! I'm not warning you again!" Her knuckles were white with frustration but she still knew that taking him on with the girl in her arms was not the best of ideas. Nevertheless, she would put the child down if it was required.

"ragamuffin, puppy, snot-nosed brat, whelp, little doll, imp, mite, moppet, nestling, rug rat, sprout, squirt, whippersnapper, guttersnipe, holy terror, juvenile delinquent, monkey, waif, hellion, pixie, rogue, scamp, pip squeak…"

"Yes."

Two confused faces turned to 829. In truth they had almost forgotten that she was there. That, in fact, they were arguing about her.

"Yes?" they said in unison. 'Yes' seemed like an inappropriate response to someone listing slang terms for you.

"Yes I like that one. Pip Squeak. It's like having two names. Pip. Squeak. I like it." The two adults stared at her, dumbfounded.

"But Pip Squeak is not a name! It's an insult!" Max declared, flabbergasted.

"But I like it," she said plaintively.

"Oh come on Maxie, you've come up with worse names. You're not exactly good at the whole name game."

"I am so good at it! I got you pegged didn't I?"

"Okay that you did. But Duck? Kane? Don't even get me started on RAT. And Biggs? Let's just say I'd prefer not to know. Plus I think I got Pip squeak pegged."

"Hey! I didn't name RAT!! Ari did. And Kane is sweet like sugar and well, you know Duck. The name suits her. Plus I can't exactly introduce her as Pip Squeak now can I?"

"How about just Pip then?" At this suggestion Max looked at the girl for a long silent moment.

"You sure?"

"Yes!" cried Alec. "I finally get a name approved by Max-the-Namer! Today is a great day! Today is the day I have been waiting for all my life!"

"Ignore him. Are you sure?"

Alec continued in the background, "I will ever remember today as the day of my victory, the day of…"

"Yes. I want to be Pip."

"… my ascension into the Namers' Hall of Fame! Wait! You do have a Namers' Hall of Fame right?" he asked facetiously. He had that far-too-innocent-to-be-really-innocent expression.

"Shut up Alec. Okay. Pip it is." With that over, she put the newly-christened 'Pip' down, held her hand and the three of them continued the walk to the road.


	3. Mommy Maxie and her strange little life

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them. I'm planning to reply to them personally tomorrow (or so) but I wanted to say thanks to everyone here. This chapter took me a long time, it changed slightly from where I wanted it to go, and in fact the whole story has pretty much done that. It's a slippery sucker. Any reviews or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy.

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"So Maxie…"

"Don't call me Maxie."

"Do you have a plan beyond me holding Pip to cover the blood? Like how we're supposed to explain the three of us sufficiently to hitch a ride?"

"Um. Well, no. Not so much. This wasn't exactly my original plan."

"What was your original plan might I ask?

"I brought a motorcycle. It's no doubt been taken by an enterprising transgenic by now."

"Motorcycle? There are three of us Maxie. And one is a small child."

"Don't call me Maxie, and I know, hence the 'this wasn't exactly my original plan' bit. And the explaining thing, I don't know, how do you suggest."

"Well Mommy Maxie…"

"Pfft." she sputtered, "What the hell did you just call me??"

"Mommy Maxie." He said with a perfectly straight face. "How else were you going to explain Pip here to all of your friends??"

Max stopped. Her body was frozen in place. How _was_ she going to explain Pip?

"What's a Mommy Maxie?" Pip piped up.

Alec took the initiative on this one. Max appeared to be somewhat… perplexed. Alec crouched down so that he was eye to eye with Pip. This could be a strange conversation.

"A mommy is…" Alec floundered. He tried again. "Outside of Manticore people are born. They are created by a man and a woman and they grow inside the woman for nine months until they are born. That woman is the baby's mother, the man is their father. Uh. Genetically both parents are related to the child." That's the bit he had. He knew Max could add the bit about love and all the mushy stuff.

Max caught his pleading look. It was her shot now. "Yes, parents are that but they are also someone who cares about the child, protects them, and loves them." Max was watching Pip closely. "There are terms of affection for those people. A mother is a Mom or Mommy and a father is a Dad or Daddy. So I guess what Alec was trying to say was that when we get to Seattle there will be people who want to know why you're with me, how we're related. And the easiest answer would be that I'm your mother. You would live with me, and I would take care of you and help you and all those good things. I, I hadn't really thought about what we were going to do before. But that sounds like a good plan to me. What about you? Do you want me to be your mother?"

Pip looked at her seriously. This was important she could tell. "And you would protect me? Not let bad things happen?" She was doubtful; no one had ever stopped bad things from happening to her before. Max nodded solemnly.

"I would do my very best." With their lives, that was the best she could promise the little girl. Her life had no doubt been hard already, unfortunately Max couldn't promise to never let another bad thing happen. She knew that was more than she could give.

"And I could call you Mommy?" Max nodded again and the little imp grinned toothily. "Okay."

Alec had seen the whole show and was simultaneously a bit sickened and jealous. It was cheesy but no one had ever promised to do their best to not let bad things happen to him. And no one had ever promised to love him either. Certainly not Max.

"Does that mean Alec's my Daddy?"

"No!"

"Yes." The two answered at the same time. Max's narrowed eyes swung to him. Danger was flashing in their dark chocolate depths. More like death really. Slow. Painful. Death. Alec was undeterred. He smirked.

"No!" She asserted. "You will not be the father of my child. There is no way. It will never happen!" He worked quickly to cover the hurt that her words had brought to his face. Luckily, when she was incensed she often missed things like that.

"Come on Maxie, I _am_ your breeding partner." Before another word could escape his mouth he was astounded by the blow to his face.

"You ever mention that again and I swear to god Alec you'll be begging for a punch as soft as that one. You will never be the father of my child." He was surprised by the venom in her words; her eyes, her very stance echoed the hatred in her voice. He was taken aback. She had never shown that sort of animosity towards him before. She made it clear that she had disliked the idea of him being her breeding partner. But he had never forced her. He was both indignant and angry.

"But I _will_ be around, to protect the two of you, to be concerned about you, and help take care of you. And all those other 'daddy'-like things." He had never told anyone but he had always wanted a family. Max of course would protest. 5.4.3.2.1…

"You will not!" She was practically humming with tension. "You will come to Seattle with us, maybe spend the night until you're on your feet and then you will up and skedaddle to your own life. A life of your own making! I've worked hard on mine and it most certainly does not involve you!"

"It does from now on Max." he said seriously. He was angry at her refusal. "I am your CO. It is my responsibility, my _right_ to protect you."

"You are not my CO Alec!"

"Yes I damn well am!" he shouted. How could she? How _dare_ she? She was his damn it, whether she liked it or not! She was assigned to his unit and in his unit she would stay.

"Whatever, soldier boy." Max left it there. He was not her CO. Zack had always been and always would be her CO. As far as she was concerned Alec had been merely a temporary stand-in. But Zack was dead. And his SIC had been dead for years. Eva had died the night of the escape. She had no CO.

"So do you deny our whole unit? Or just me?" He asked her scathingly. There was hurt beyond his words. He knew her answer, had known it before he asked. Apparently he was a sucker for punishment. She would never deny the rest of their unit.

"Just you."

"You…fine." They walked to the road in tense silence.

"Pip, call me Daddy when we catch a ride." He saw Max's hostile glare. "It will be a better cover story for whoever picks us up." Max took off her leather jacket and wrapped it around Pip; there was no need for anyone to see her hospital scrubs. She sent another glare to Alec as he picked her up and settled her into his side. She felt good there, soft and small and his to protect. They both were. _His_. Max went back to ignoring him.

Not another word was said between the two of them until they reached Fogle Towers. Not when an older man stopped to pick them up. Not when he asked a million questions about them during the drive. Not when he dropped them off on the outskirts of Seattle. Not when Max hotwired a car to take them where they needed to go. Not when Pip fell asleep on his shoulder. Not when they ditched the car. Not until they reached their destination and she needed something from him did she even concede that he existed at all.

When they got to Fogle Towers Max took a few seconds and contemplated her next step. She couldn't go up to the penthouse with Pip. That would look weird. 'Oh hey Logan here is the antidote to the fatal virus I gave you and meet my newly adopted daughter.' See? Weird. She couldn't bring Alec either. That would be awkward. Very awkward. 'Oh hey Logan, I've brought the cure so you don't die because you touched me, my breeding partner here will help you out' awkward. So they would have to stay down here. Problem solved. Sort of. He'd have to find out sooner or later. Max chose later. She turned to Alec.

"Can you keep her and wait down here for a minute? It's late and I'm actually tired. I'm hoping to wait 'til tomorrow to explain the two of you."

He nodded, still pissed at her refusal to acknowledge him properly, and sat down on the floor with the baby to await her return.

Max stood for a moment outside the door to the penthouse. She was half-afraid of what would be inside. She knew the virus had 24 hours before the antigen was useless and she'd been gone less than six. But the 'what if's haunted her. The virus wasn't the only gift she'd left Logan. He also had a bound and gagged X6 in his bathroom. Max almost felt sorry for the guy; he was only 16, just doing what he'd been taught. He'd had no choice really. Max knew all about the things Manticore could make you do under orders. She shuddered. It must suck being thwarted by being chained to a toilet though.

Too bad for the X6, but fortunately for Logan he had someone who not only didn't want him to be killed by Manticore but had the ability to do something about it. Unfortunately it was the same person who had almost killed him in the first place. Her strange little life was about to get a whole lot more so. She did without the formality of knocking and opened the door.

"Max?" It was more like a croak then a recognizable human sound. Frankly, Max was astounded that he was still conscious. Max came face to face with the man she was nearly in love with all those months ago for the second time that day. It was still hard to believe that this was Logan. The time had changed him. She supposed it had changed them both. His hair was longer and scraggy. He was unshaven, unkempt. It was obvious he had been grieving, but there were signs of him getting back on his feet. He had a girl with him. Asha.

After the X6 had given her Renfro's message Max had asked Logan if he had anyone who could stay with him until she got back. She had been thinking Bling and was taken aback when he responded with 'Asha'. 'Asha' was a girl's name. He had thought she'd died. They'd never really been together in the first place. And here was Asha. She was pretty damn it! Short funky blonde hair, piercing blue eyes. Cute. She was quite striking in an ordinary kind of way. Max hated her on sight.

Not quite unknown to Max was the fact that the feeling was mutual. Asha narrowed her eyes. As far as she was concerned Max was an unwanted intruder. 'Dying' in a man's arms, leaving him to grieve and then showing up almost a year later perfectly fine and giving him a deadly virus was inexcusable. Although, considering a top-secret government military project was involved, there may be some excuse, but in Asha's admittedly biased opinion it wasn't a good one. What was truly inexcusable was the fact that she was gorgeous, utterly drop-dead gorgeous. She'd seen pictures of course. Max smiling looking beautiful at a wedding; Max scowling looking beautiful in the living room; Max laughing looking beautiful on a sleek black motorcycle. Ugh. It was bad competing with a dead girl, worse a dead super-girl, but Asha had been dealing with it. For that dead super-girl to turn up not-so-dead was just plain ridiculous!

Logan meanwhile lay on the couch only semi-conscious while the girls had their mini-stare down. He thought it was beyond time to have the attention of the room. It was only fair. He was dying! The awkwardness could wait until he was well enough to participate. He coughed a little and both girl's gazes abruptly swung to him. Max stepped forward to hand him the syringe with the antidote then stopped with her hand still outstretched. She couldn't do something as simple as hand him something without possibly making things worse. Asha stepped forward victoriously. Reluctantly, Max handed her the antidote.

It was a strange thing, to be a tad jealous of someone administering an injection. Max was happy to relegate it into the 'Temporary Insanity' category in her mind. It fit well there, with all the other uncomfortable or inconvenient feelings in her life. It was filed away and stamped 'To Be Resolved Later'. Much later. Lately that file had been filling up. Manticore. A lot of it was about Ben or Ben's twin. Alec. Thinking of whom, she had to get back to him. He was mad at her, furiously, viciously mad at her. He probably wanted to take off and maybe she could send the X6 off with him, then she and Pip could head home. Max smiled.

"Max." the voice brought her back to the moment. "Max, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too Logan. Now you just rest up. Get all better and we'll talk tomorrow."

"You're leaving?" he asked incredulous. There was no way she was serious. She just got back. She was alive! She couldn't be leaving already.

"Yeah Logan I have to go see Cindy and..." she thought about Pip. She could be explained tomorrow and if Max played her cards right Alec didn't need to be explained at all. "Look Logan, there are some things…" she didn't know how to explain not explaining. "We'll have a good long talk tomorrow after work I promise, trust me on this one. I want you to feel better." Max gave him a reassuring smile.

Logan nodded. He wasn't happy, but he understood. They had a lot to discuss, it was late and she needed to see Cindy. Tomorrow, he thought, tomorrow would be great.

Max walked into the bathroom. "Up and at 'em" she called. There was a very grumpy looking boy sitting on the floor. "Come On. X5-494's waiting for you downstairs. We're to report ASAP." At Alec's designation the boy's ears perked up. He nodded. Max untied him in seconds.

She waved at Logan and then quickly slipped outside the door with the boy.

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A/N2: I hope that answers some of your questions for you. Don't worry, if certain things are confusing I do plan to explain them as I go along. It just seemed to me that Max isn't the type of person to explain things in one long go, she'd leave hints and you'd piece together the story over time, especially with Manticore. So that's the reason why some of it is obscure. Guesses and ideas are great. I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Impossibilities

A/N: I have heard that writing att three am while drunk isn't a good idea. Frankly, I like to try everything once! So here we go…

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"Alec, Pip, meet Billy." Max and the X6 had come down the elevator in silence. Pip and Alec were waiting for them on the street. Her hands flailed in the direction of the two transgenics sitting by the door.

"Billy?" The X6 seemed worried by this pronouncement.

"Yup, that's your name." Max smiled, satisfied.

"Aw man." He whined. "Couldn't I be Blaze or Hunter, or Gun, or something?" It was quite funny. The young X6 male was trying to defend his masculinity. 'Billy' was not the name he'd have chosen.

"Nope. You're Billy." Max's response hit Billy by surprise but not Alec. Alec smirked slightly at the kid and shifted Pip in his arms as he stood up. They began the short journey to Max's place, now Max and Pip's place.

"It's best not to argue with her about names. Once she's made up her mind I'm afraid you're stuck." Alec supplied helpfully.

"But that's such a sissy name; I want a cool, manly name." Billy puffed out his chest proudly. He was 16 and he got to be sent out on missions! Max was clearly unimpressed.

"A pity. Your name is Billy. Billy the Kid." She grinned, pleased with the name. It suited him. All trying to be brave and outlaw but just a kid, a kid who was thwarted by being tied to a toilet. Ha! Billy's chest deflated.

"You're mean!" It hadn't taken long to get to the 'abandoned' building Max called home. Travelling the right route it was only one sector over.

"Hey! If I wanted to be really mean I could have named you Toilet." She smirked at him evilly. The boy looked at her in horror.

"You wouldn't!" Max was hoping that the quick move to her building would calm Alec down. She didn't want things to remain strained between them.

"She would." Alec stated simply. Max studied his face closely. Yup, he was still mad. It was too bad. She didn't want him to leave this way. She didn't mean to hurt him that badly. And he was hurt. Max could tell by the way he clutched Pip to him and rubbed his cheek into the back of her little neck while her head was resting on his shoulder. He wanted to claim her. But he couldn't. Max wouldn't let him. Alec _couldn't_ be the father of her child. She simply wouldn't allow it. She needed him to understand that and let it go. But he wouldn't. Max knew that with a certainty, Alec would never let go of something he believed was his without an epic battle. It would be uphill from now on.

"Maxie here is capable of doing things you wouldn't even dare." Like deny me, he thought. This kid wasn't in his unit, didn't know him personally, but if Alec stretched out his hand the kid would take it. Gladly. Max apparently would spit on it and laugh. God, she was infuriating. She should just accept here and now that he was her CO and he _would_ be her protector, he _would_ be involved in her life.

"Let's go Billy the Kid, we're here and Maxie doesn't want us spoiling her reunions with her friends." He put the sleepy Pip down. She blinked up at him, her large eyes sad and her eyelids drooped. The poor thing was exhausted.

"Bye Daddy." The words tore at something inside Alec. She _was_ his. Even the toddler knew it. He crouched down to her, and stroked her little face with his hand.

"Bye Pip Squeak. I'll be back soon." Max stood between them. The hostile glare was back. He stood up to face Max.

"No you won't. If you need help, you know where to get it. But you will not just pop in to check up on us. I can take care of us just fine thank you very much."

"Don't argue Max. I will be back. Within the week, to see you and you can't stop me." His voice was hard and flat. He was not arguing, he was stating fact. It made the little hairs on the back of Max's neck stand to attention. He had popped back into Manticore mode and she didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.

"You're not my CO Alec. You are not her father. And you are not my mate. You have no right…"

He cut her off. "I have every right in the world. I _am_ your CO, and I _will_ be back. That's all that needs to be said. Accept it and move on." With that he turned and started walking away.

Billy was confused. He knew there was something more going on than either of them were saying, but he guessed asking about it would only lead to pain. He caught sight of Alec motioning over his shoulder. Billy smiled at the girls and followed.

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A/N2: Short but you wouldn't believe how long that took me. Next chapter is OC and Max reunion!! How will she explain Pip?? And what will she say about Alec???? Review and tell me your thoughts.


	5. What the hell happened?

A/N: This is short, but hopefully more will come in the next couple of days. This is really just a quickie to get some explanations/ how Max is feeling stuff out of the way. Any questions or comments are appreciated. And thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!

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Max held the sleepy Pip Squeak in her arms as she slowly walked up the stairs to her old apartment. Oddly, she was afraid. She'd been gone so long, what if everything had changed? Logan had changed. Had Original Cindy? Somehow that thought was more disturbing. Max knocked. Max never knocked. But today, right now, Max understood the point of knocking. It delayed the inevitable. She was all for that. Random noises were her answer from the apartment. Then nothing. Max knocked again, louder. Nothing. Max was almost to the point of turning away and running… somewhere when she heard the sounds of an irritated Original Cindy.

"This better be good or you gonna be sewing important body parts back on fool!" Max smiled. The door swung open and Max's eyes rested on an irritated OC. Then the image changed and it became an OC struck dumb by the sight in front of her.

"I'm sorry I'm a bit late. Apparently being kidnapped by a secret government project will do that to you." Original Cindy's eyes filled with tears and her arms swung around Max and held her tight. Clearly OC hadn't seen the little girl in Max's arms.

"Ow! Mommy I'm being crushed." OC flew back and her eyes widened even more at the realization of the child there. The child who called someone 'mommy'. And it sure as hell wasn't her.

"Max?" It was obvious from the confused expression on Original Cindy's face than an explanation was needed. Max sighed. It was good to be home. Max gave a slight nod of her head towards Pip and the apartment.

"Can we come in?"

"Boo, don't be stupid. You don't need to ask. You live here." Max exhaled in relief.

"Okay. God, I've missed you. OC this is Pip. Pip this is my best friend Original Cindy."

"Pip?"

"Yes. I am Pip. Pip Squeak. I just got my name. It is two names put together, like Original Cindy. Do you like my name?

Original Cindy was a bit stunned to say the least. This child was tiny and sleepy and was still capable of talking a mile a minute. Plus, there's no way she looked old enough to know some of those words, let alone make complete complex sentences.

"Yes. Original Cindy likes your name very much." She needed a bit of time to think about the little kid. No doubt Max would explain when Pip was in bed.

"Mommy did not like my name. Daddy named me." Daddy? Original Cindy shot a look at Max. Max looked irritated.

"Pip, he is not your father and it's lights out now."

"Now? Where are the barracks?" Pip looked around anxiously. It was clear she was getting upset about being up past lights out. Max's face relaxed; her voice gentled.

"There are no barracks outside of Manticore Pip. You can sleep in my bed until we figure out what to do with you. Don't worry. You're not in trouble. You get a good sleep and we'll talk more in the morning." Max carried Pip into her bedroom. Original Cindy decided to give them some space. Max would come out when the child was sleeping. Pip. Pip Squeak. Hunh.

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Inside Max's old room, Pip and Max were awkwardly settling in. Max was attempting to be all parental and such but it was obvious (to herself anyway Pip had no idea) that she was going to need to work on that. Oddly enough, the bed was made. Max frowned. She'd have to talk to OC about that.

"Go to sleep my little Pip Squeak, tomorrow will be a big day too. I'll come in and sleep with you after I have a little talk with Original Cindy. Okay?"

"Yes mommy," she murmured groggily. Pip was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. Max gently touched her cheek and sat watching until she fell into a deep sleep. The little girl was beautiful. And hers. Her little girl was beautiful.

Max regretfully got off the bed. No doubt OC would be half-crazed with questions by now. She turned and walked into the living room. Settling herself on the couch, she curled up like a cat and awaited the inevitable.

"So. Boo…?" OC had that look of expectation, as if an explanation of sorts would be forthcoming. Max mentally snorted. As if.

"So?" Her face was the perfect picture of innocence. Because as far as she was concerned it was perfectly normal to show up in the dead of night after being presumed dead for 10 months with a small child who called her 'mommy'. All perfectly normal. No explanation needed. Really.

OC was not impressed. Well, impressed yes, satisfied no. Max had always been good at hiding her emotions but apparently her recent capture had improved the irritating ability. Damn. This was not good.

"Original Cindy ain't stupid boo, but she gonna need the low-down. Don't get me wrong, OC's happy to have you back but this is some weird shit girl." Okay. Maybe it did require an explanation. A little one. Max made a small reluctant sound in the back of her throat. A soft, almost inaudible hiss of displeasure.

"What did Logan tell you?" OC hesitated. It had been a bad time for everyone involved.

"Not much boo. He said you'd died in his arms. There was something about a finger of a tinger or somethin', and taking down Manticore. He wasn't making much sense. He…" OC watched her carefully for any sign of distress. She had visibly flinched at the word 'tinger' but what that meant OC had no clue. "He was pretty broken up boo. Didn't leave them nice digs he's got for a month. We never spoke about the circumstances again. He out an' out refused." Max was silent for a long while; OC almost had pretty much given up hope that Max would open up about it when she spoke.

"Tinga. Not 'tinger'. TINGA was my sister. Tinga was my big sister." She had that faraway look, not seeing the solid wall in front of her, but through it. "They captured her son and she traded her freedom for his. Zack and I tried to rescue her." There was another deafening pause. "She's dead." Horror dawned in OC's eyes. Another one of Max's siblings were gone. It was no wonder the girl had trust issues. "The bitch of a director murdered her. Drained the life from her and put her in a glass tube. A science experiment." Max couldn't help the bitterness that crept into her voice. Tinga was her sister. "So we said, 'fuck it!' And tried to take down Manticore." That summed it up nicely. Their sister was dead, so they attempted to torch home sweet home.

"But Boo, why'd Logan say you died?"

"I did." Max stated it baldly. No irony, no bitterness, just soft, simple fact, as if to say it didn't matter. Her own death was of little consequence. OC shivered. There weren't many things she could think of to make one's own death seem inconsequential. "Shot through the heart." She could practically hear the questions in OC's eyes. Max didn't know if she could go further. It had been almost a year, but still the pain in many ways was still fresh.

"Zack's dead." Oh God. Zack. OC knew that with Ben gone Zack had been the sibling Max was closest to as a child.

"Shot too?" For some reason it helped to speak in short sentences. It short-circuited the emotion while getting the facts across. Max almost choked on her own tongue. Shot too? You could say so.

"Yes."

"Oh Boo…" The sympathetic hand that OC had put on Max's shoulder was casually, but not meanly shrugged off. Max cut off her well meaning words.

"By his own gun." There could be nothing left to say. Max silently pleaded for OC to let it drop.

"You sure Boo? Mr. Military didn't seem the type." Max hesitated. To lie or not to lie? This was the second death of a brother she loved where she was at fault. To lie or not to lie? But the faintly hopeful spark in Original Cindy's eye needed to be squashed.

"I needed a heart donor." The words slipped out, simply effortlessly, factually. Her mouth had a mind of its' own. The words conveyed none of her horror, regret or disgust upon waking. There could be no words for that.

"Oh." She said simply, trying desperately to absorb it all. "Well he did seem the type for that." She admitted softly.

"You got to bed OC; I'm taking a bath." Some semblance of the old Max returned. She had a small grin. "I need to shave my legs. You'd be shocked at the lack of respect that place had for the girly arts." OC watched Max disappear into the bathroom. Her head popped back into the doorway. "And don't worry about Pip; I'll start sorting things out tomorrow. I figure we'll need to buy some clothes and such. Maybe you could help?"

"Sure Boo. Tomorrow's my day off, so we can sort out everything then. Have a good bath." Max's grin widened and OC smiled. They were going shopping for baby clothes tomorrow. Of all the things she'd never thought she'd be doing, baby clothes shopping with Max just about topped the list. Things would be different around here from now on. She was just glad to have her Boo back, safe and alive. The happy bit they could work on.


	6. Stupid

A/N: I would beg and plead for forgiveness, but well, I'm not going to. This is the second version of this as the first one disappeared. It's short but a little girl fluff to get back into the mood of the story. Luckily for those of you who are reading, I have a boring job! So thanks go to my boss for this one. And I'd like to thank those who kept reviewing. You gave me the final push to finish it up and post. I hope you like.

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Max woke up to a warm little body curled into her side and the delightful smell of pancakes. Man, had she ever missed OC. Pip was still sleeping soundly. It was the deep dead-to-the-world sleep that they only ever got with their own kind. Maybe, Max mused, it would be easier to sleep with Pip living with her. It would be a stretch with her shark DNA and all, but Max remembered the peaceful night with Zack at Logan's cabin. Even more recently were the nights that Alec was so unceremoniously thrust into her cell as her breeding partner. Max froze, leaving that thought exactly where it was. Uh. It was nice to be home?

Sensing the sudden tension, Pip was instantly alert. Her little hand flew to Max's throat. Max stilled, waiting for instinct to be satisfied that she posed no threat. Pip's eyes were clouded with sleep and Max waited patiently for consciousness to slip back into them. Her eyes were gold when she was guided by instinct. It eerily reminded her of Ben and their fight in the woods. She remembered the abject terror she felt the first time she had seen Alec's eyes shining gold and feral. At least that experience was coming in handy now. As soon as Pip was awake enough to understand what was going on, her eyes widened in fear. Her fingers opened and her hand blurred away from Max's throat.

"The insubor'nation will not be repeated ma'am." Max hugged the small child close.

"Mommy," she corrected. "And you couldn't help it Pip. Soon enough your instincts will recognize me and it won't be a problem any more. I know you're sorry. It's okay." Pip relaxed into her embrace and snuggled deeper into her neck. After a few moments of desperately seeking the comfort offered, Pip's head popped out from the curtain of Max's hair.

"Mommy, what's that smell?" Max grinned.

"That, my little Pip Squeak, is breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Pip asked confused. "But it doesn't smell like breakfast." Pip was clearly doubtful that this tasty smell was that of something she'd be allowed to eat. Her breakfast had always been a thin tasteless gruel. And this certainly didn't smell like breakfast. Pip's mouth was watering. "What is it?"

"It's pancakes…" At Pip's further look of confusion Max explained. "Dough. It's warm cooked dough that's yummy." She was not good at describing things, which was funny because she'd once been the little girl asking what pancakes were.

"Yummy?"

"Uh. " Max stumbled. "Good. It's good."

"Okay."

"And I'm betting there's meat too." In her head danced visions of sausages and… Max cocked her head to the side… was that the sweet smell of bacon? Max grinned and made a distinctly feline purr of pleasure. Instinctively Pip purred back and then stopped suddenly embarrassed. Purring was not something encouraged by Manticore.

Max laughed loudly and heartily, pulling Pip into her lap. Pip started chuckling softly. Max saw her moment to strike and quickly shifted her position so she had Pip squashed underneath her and began to tickle her mercilessly. Pip squeaked and squealed and squirmed under Max, half-attempting to free herself, half-wanting to stay exactly where she was. She felt warm and taken care of and part of her never wanted to leave. Then the other part of her spoke up. Her stomach growled. This caused them both to burst into another fit of laughter. Lying side by side gasping for breath on top of Max's bed they came to a pause. It was at that moment that Max knew, beyond a doubt, that Pip was hers and she could do this.

"Come on Pip Squeak, let's go out." It was only then that Max came to the rather obvious problem of clothes.

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OC was happily cooking away in the kitchen singing to herself and dancing rather spastically. Today was her Boo's first day back from the black helicopter men, not to mention Baby Boo's first day out in the world; they were getting the breakfast of all breakfasts! There were eggs and bacon and sausage and pancakes. OC would even allow them the use of her special maple syrup. It was damn hard getting good maple syrup in the post-pulse world. If there was one thing Original Cindy had learned about transgenics, it was to never expect cooperation on an empty stomach. A hungry X5 was an unpleasant X5. OC thought about Pip for a moment before concluding that the same probably held true for other X-whatever's.

The hysterical laughter from the bedroom stopped and the door creaked open.

"Uh OC," came a quavering voice from Max's bedroom. It sounded like she was desperately suppressing the urge to laugh. "We seem to have a problem."

"Come out here Boos, we'll sort out whatever it is over food."

Max walked through the door, smiling. She was dressed in her jeans and favourite red shirt. The outfit was topped off with her second favourite black leather jacket. Sadly her favourite had disappeared in the craziness surrounding the destruction of the DNA lab. Her hair was long and not as curly as before. She looked older, sleeker somehow. Too skinny. OC pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. She'd need to feed that girl up some. Max was smirking and Baby Boo was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's your girl?"

"She's shy and, uh, poorly dressed. So don't laugh." OC raised her eyebrows. Max just chuckled. "Pip, come on out."

A little head popped out from the doorway. The little face on that head was embedded with a remarkably Max-like scowl. Pip slowly came out from the doorway.

OC was stunned. The chuckle in her throat was trying to come out, but sheer will power prevented it.

"Damn!" It was the first time OC really got a good look at Pip. She took the moment to study her. The baby girl was tiny, small-boned and fragile looking. Her lips face was scrunched into an oddly familiar expression. It was an adorable pout topped by big green cat eyes. She had pouty lips, and her eyes, which should have been so innocent at three, held a wisdom Original Cindy would only wonder at. She was wearing one of Max's blue tank tops. It was far too big and hung on her small frame like a tent. Or would have if there wasn't a… was that a hair-band? A hair-band around her waist?! She was also wearing a pair on boxers adorned with pink hearts. OC would bet a large sum that the only reason they stayed up was because they were tucked up above the hair-band-like-belt.

OC looked reproachfully at Max. "Baby Boo looks stupid!"

Max burst into laughter and Pip's scowl deepened.

"I know I know. But it was the best we could do and as son as we're done eating your delicious breakfast OC, we've gotta go out and get my girl something to wear."

"Boo…" Cindy sputtered, "Boo, maybe we should go now." OC was clearly offended by Pip's outfit. Max's stomach grumbled. Pip's eyes narrowed at her but there was a barely detectable hint of pleading buried deep inside them. The girl needed some proper clothes.

"They hurt my eyes." She said. OC pat Pip's head reassuringly. Max just smirked.

"After. And we'll get you something much…MUCH better." Original Cindy noticed the plain look of doubt spread across Pip's face. It was apparent that an adult keeping their word was not a plentiful thing in the child's past.

"Promise?" Max looked at her seriously for a minute. Then smiled beautifully. OC was suspicious; somehow it still hadn't managed to hide the twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

"Pip, no daughter of mine is going out in public looking like that twice." Pip's scowl deepened for a fraction of a second before she stuck out her tongue.

An attitude just like her mother's too. Figured.


	7. Not exactly the usual state of 'affair'

A/N: Okay, I KNOW I said Monday (meaning approximately a million Monday's ago), but my computer practically blew up and well… I lied. I'm a liar. Sue me. Or don't. I honestly am completely broke. Because none of these lovely creations are mine. And really, would you want to own them? Isn't it much more fun to play with them in your spare time??? How's that for a roundabout disclaimer?

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After a delicious breakfast and a hilarious shopping excursion, Max left Pip with OC for some "girly bonding" time while she went to tackle the issue of Logan. Standing on the sidewalk, looking up at Fogle Towers, Max hesitated. This was going to be freaking difficult. There was no way it would go pleasantly.

During the morning many things had been worked out.

They'd decided on a cover story: She'd had Pip before coming to Seattle and her sister was raising her. It was with pain, that she used Tinga's death, but it was necessary. She was called back home in an emergency when she was told about her siblings' car accident. Tinga and Zack were in intensive care for several months before eventually succumbing to their injuries. It took a while after that to sort out their business and she had to stay for Charlie and Case. Max and OC figured they could explain away the "no contact" thing with a well-timed phone message and answering machine malfunction. The guilt of not having told her best friends about Pip would account for her not badgering everyone with calls.

She'd also discovered some things during the shopping spree. Max had no idea how to be a parent. She knew the idea, the loving protecting bit. But the practical stuff was beyond her. There had been one particularly heinous fact uncovered about the Pip Squeak: she could not wear anything with buttons. The discovery had been alarming, causing a great ruckus with the two adults. Original Cindy was doing the patient this-is what-you-do thing, and Max stood there dumbstruck. Until of course she threw her arms up in the air and screamed a little.

"Great! Excellent! That's just what I need, a child with all the skill and experience with identifying all sorts of weaponry and firing guns, without the fine motor skills to do up tiny buttons! Perfect. Apparently buttons weren't high on the Manticore child assassin curriculum."

OC took it upon herself to Max upside the head and tell her to get her head in the game. Pip also couldn't tie shoelaces. Didn't understand how strong or fast she was compared to normal human three year olds. And apparently complex-sentence structure was not yet normal either. Neither was the word 'insubord'nation'. They'd had several prolonged strange looks. It was going to be hard. But she'd work it out. They'd sorted out a lot of stuff even this morning. Unfortunately, of all the things worked out and settled upon, none of them had anything to do with what she was going to tell Logan. Damn.

Max sighed. Life was no doubt going to be different from now on. Again she looked up at Fogle Towers. Seriously. Starting now.

She took a deep breath and resolutely walked towards the building.

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In a rather lame attempt to force things back to normal Max walked into the penthouse without knocking. The lamest bit was that it took a moment of serious consideration on her part to decide on a suitable course of action.

"Logan?"

At first Max didn't have a second thought about the candles set up, waiting to be lit. It was not unusual for Logan to have candles around the penthouse. It was chic. Max stopped dead in her tracks. Every muscle froze. There was a matchbook. Conveniently sitting right there on the table. That was not chic. That was planned.

Ohgodohgodohgod.

"Hey." Logan walked into the room, all soft looks and endearing smiles. It was exactly the way things used to be. Nothing changed at all. Except the 10 months he thought she'd been dead, the retrovirus targeted to kill him if they touched, she now had a child and… Well pretty much everything.

"Uh. Hey yourself." It was a stilted, awkward version of their usual not so witty banter. Last night, when she'd thought she'd escaped, she had burst into the pent house and they'd kissed. The sheer relief and adrenaline from escaping and finding him whole and healthy, alive, was enough to overcome the fact that it had always been unsaid, tentative, unsure between them. For some reason, to go back to the dance after saying "fuck it" the night before with disastrous consequences, made everything all the more awkward.

"Logan we need to talk" She tightened every muscle in her body, stretched her neck to both sides, prepared for the onslaught. It was instinctual, and her recent stay home sweet home had brought out much more of that side of her. She could smell the food cooking, his cologne, and even the slight nervousness in the air. The soft whirr of the exoskeleton made her left eye twitch. She'd forgotten about that.

"Dinner's almost ready." Logan smiled and gestured towards the table.

"Logan…"

"I'm so glad you're back Max." He looked into her eyes tenderly and brought his had up to cup her cheek. Then stopped. An inch away from her face he remembered. She remembered. And the world froze. He sighed deeply. "We'll get through this. We'll never let Manticore take us away from each other again."

And just like that Max realized, letting Logan go was letting them win, giving in to the people who tortured or chased her all her life. Her fate was set; she couldn't let them win. The fact that Manticore had already gotten between them in more ways than one was disquieting. It was now just going to be trickier than ever with… everything.

"Logan, things are going to be different now."

"Why?"

"I…" Max closed her eyes and steeled herself. "I have a daughter…"

"But…?" Logan's mouth had fallen open. Max thought that she needed to step in, lest he remain with the wrong idea. The idea that she'd actually had a baby. The thought of the Breeding Programme instantly connected with the previous thought in Max's mind and a cold sliver of fear shimmered down her spine.

"I'm adopting her. I found her last night in the middle of the exercise yard during the fight. She was, well not defenceless exactly," no one born in Manticore was ever defenceless, "but she needs someplace, someone to take care of her. She's only three. She's really small. With dark hair… it's pretty much shaved now, but I think it's going to be curly. She really could pass for my daughter. And she's got green eyes. Very cat-like. She's quite pretty. Pip's her name. I know; it's a stupid name but…" She knew she was babbling, but the look on his face wouldn't go away.

"She's not your daughter Max. She's an orphan." Her eyes narrowed. Sure he'd bring up the logical side of things.

"Not anymore she isn't. She's family Logan. Mine."

"Max you can't take care of a child, Eyes Only can place her with a normal loving family who would be much better equipped to deal with a child than you are…"

"Better equipped? Like when she thinks 'Infirmary', 'Psychological Operations' and 'barracks', 'punishment cell' and 'solitary confinement' are perfectly normal phrases for a three year old? Or when she walks down the street and gets excited about seeing a Beretta M9, and asks the random stranger if she can test its sight and informs him that personally she prefers the 92FS?? You think this 'normal loving family' would be better prepared for THAT???" All of which were other interesting incidents this afternoon. Internally Max grinned. Pip was going to be a handful.

Logan was aghast.

"She's going to get you caught Max! And well, there are lots of families who can deal with children with special needs…"

It was Max's turn to be aghast.

"Special needs? Special needs??? She's not retarded Logan, she's transgenic!" And, she thought, this was about tactical advantage. Just not hers. Pip wouldn't survive without her.

"I didn't mean that and you know it! I mean she needs someone who can deal with those things yes, but that person isn't you!"

"She's my daughter Logan." Max said with finality.

"You don't know that. Genetically she's probably nothing to do with you." She was just so damn blind when it came to her 'family'. It was going to get her killed. But she never had listened to him. Not about Zack, Tinga and Brin or even Ben…

"So? Logan, I'll never find my 'mother' the woman who birthed me. Neither will she. The closest thing I'll ever have to that is knowing I look like Lydecker's wife! And she'll have me. Genetics don't make family."

"But Max…"

"Logan, you're not going to win. She's mine. _Mine_." And you're going to need to deal with that."

Something inside of Logan, something primitive and instinctive bristled at that. '_Mine_.' It was a warning of sorts that his conscious mind couldn't decipher. But before he could puzzle it out, his feet had already moved him backwards. His voice gentled and his body language changed imperceptibly to the human. Max knew. She saw. And it made her glad. And a bit disgusted with herself. This was Logan, _Logan_, and she'd done that purposefully.

"Max, you just met her last night." He was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. They both did. But he felt he had to try. It was best for everyone. Him, some part of his mind supplied, it was best for him. He put that thought aside ruthlessly. He turned to her. Her eyebrow quirked mockingly.

"I know" she said, perfectly smoothly, soft, even, reasonable, furious. "And she's family. You won't take that away from me. From either of us." Dinner was burning. And she didn't care.

"Max, I just think…" She cut him off angrily, eyes snapping with golden flecks deep inside the chocolate brown. If he was anyone else, and he wouldn't die if she touched him, she'd have punched him already.

"Well don't if you're going to be stupid about it!"

There was a long frustrated pause. Logan ran his hands through his hair, and fixed his glasses. Max jutted out her chin and scowled ominously. She was being stubborn and he was being righteous. Actually it was closer to the usual state of affairs than either had hoped for. Ironic.


	8. Understandings and the status of quo

A/N: I'm thankful for the reviews, and the readers who have stuck with me even through my appalling lack of updates. Your continued obsession with all things Dark Angel makes me one happy girl. I thought to be nice, and maybe make up for previous nastiness I should update really soon… but don't be expecting updates like crazy now… once every few weeks will probably be a more reasonable expectation.

I felt this needed to be said: about Logan… I've gotten a few reviews about how righteous Logan was and… uh… wishes for violence to be done against him. In this and other stories. (Read my other stories!) Well sorry, but that's not going to happen. I hope I'm not mean to Logan, I just don't see him as a valid counterpart to Max. Ever. So I'm trying to write his character within the realms of how he is on the show. Yes, righteousness seems to be part of the Logan character, but I don't want him to be an asshole. And last chapter think about it from his perspective, this girl he's wanted for a long time, thought he'd lost comes back and then tells him that this obstacle (I know she's a kid not an object but still) is being put in their way ON PURPOSE. I'd be a little irritated as well.

Believe it or not, this STILL isn't mine. I know. Ridiculous eh? The least they could do is donate it to little old me. I would do good things with it. Help the poor and suffering. Make more seasons. What can I say? They're selfish. Their mommies never taught them to share. Bad mommies. Ramble complete.

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"So what are you going to do with her during the day?" Logan asked. He'd realized that he was never going to win this argument. Pip would stay. Now it was all about the logistics of the matter.

"Not that it's any business of yours, but I'm going to take her to work." Max was still feeling defensive, and only her newfound 'maturity' made her suppress the urge to stick her tongue out. Her new status as a mother would be jeopardized with him if she dared.

"And your Boss will be _okay_ with that?" he demanded incredulously.

"Normal? Yeah. We have an understanding." She shrugged off his disbelief. Oh she was sure Normal would give her hell, but in the end he'd accept Pip.

"An _understanding_?"

"Yes. He gets to bitch and yell, and I get to do whatever I want. It works for us."

"And this is your _Boss_ you're talking about?" Logan performed his version of a scoff, which came out a tad more condescending than he'd planned. No boss he'd ever had had 'understandings' with young ladies in their employ. None of the respectable ones anyway.

"Well he hasn't fired me yet." Max thought for a moment. "Well not really anyway." She shook her head to shake away the questions he was no doubt coming up with. "But it doesn't matter, I'll figure it out."

"You'll figure it out? Max this is a life that's entirely dependant on you! You can't just _figure it out_!" His hands flew into the air to emphasize his point. She had no idea of the magnitude of this thing she was taking on. A child for god's sake!

"Would you cut it out with the italics and hand gestures already. Yes. I know exactly how badly prepared I am for this okay? I know. But it happens everyday. People wind up with children and they _figure it out_! I'll explain away my absence, where she's been and then I'll deal."

"Max, this is irresponsible." His face was closed and pinched, knowing a blow was coming, but he couldn't help himself from pointing it out. She was barely more than a child herself.

"Shut it. When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it. And I'm not asking." Her eyes narrowed and she pointed her finger at him mercilessly. This was not how she'd thought this would go. But then again, she thought darkly, he never had understood what family meant to her. Everything.

"So this is what you said we needed to talk about then?" Max would do what she would do; there was no way to stop her on this accord. He started cleaning up the burnt dinner. There was a charcoaled chicken in the oven, a rice pilaf that had seen better days. There was also a tomato-based sauce, and vegetables that were useable at a future date. He bent to look through the cupboard to find Tupperware of the right sizes.

"This and… other things." She obfuscated. Careful not to touch him, she grabbed one of the containers and began scooping the sauce into it with a spoon.

"Other things? There's more?" The idea of 'more' did not sit well with Logan. Could you blame him? After one bombshell, she causally admitted the existence of others.

"Of course there's more! I've been gone for almost a year Logan, there's a lot more!" Angry now, she swing around, spoon in hand and pointed it at him ferociously. Flecks of sauce landed on Logan's face and they both stopped dead. The tension was broken, he smiled a little and she chuckled.

"For example?" Amusedly, he wiped the sauce from his face with a nearby napkin. Max turned her back to him again. It was something of a habit by now, talking to her back. It irritated him. He went back to scraping the rice from its pot.

"Have you… have you any way to get in touch with Syl or Krit?" Logan made a strangled sound deep in his throat.

"I was talking about US!"

"I wasn't." She made no further comment, and the silence stretched out between them, taught and thick. The only sounds in the entire penthouse were the soft sounds of breath and the gentle clang of the cleanup operation. Logan paused, put down a dish and took off his glasses. He passed them hand to hand for a moment, thinking, then brought them down to the corner of his shirt. Max watched each of his movements from the corner of her eye as the sauce disappeared from his glasses and appeared on his woollen jumper.

"No. I left them with my number. They called once. A month afterwards. To check in, see if I'd heard anything about Zack. Then nothing." He rubbed the cloth against his glasses vigorously, as if that would solve the myriad of problems before them… between them. The sauce was packed neatly and ready to be put into the fridge. Max nodded thoughtfully.

"Zack's dead." She half turned towards the table, away from prying eyes, and collected the wine glasses. She brought them into the kitchen.

"So were you." He offered like hope. She heard the half-hearted line from the kitchen and paused at the door. Took a deep breath.

"No. He's _dead_ dead." Her words were cold. So unlike the Max he knew. It was wrong. Nothing should suck the life out of the bright, vivacious young woman he knew.

"What happened?" It was tentatively curious and the fact that she knew she would shove his efforts back in his face made her sad. Oh well. Utensils had to be put away.

"I don't want to go into it." She'd gone into it more than she'd ever wanted to already.

"Max?" A little push, he thought, if she only talked about it they could bridge this gap.

"Have you continued looking for other escapees?" Quick subject change. It eased the pressure in her chest. She finished bringing in the dishes and went on to the vegetables. They smelled good.

"No. I concentrated on taking down Manticore." He filled the pot with warm soapy water and put it aside to soak.

"Yeah. Noticed. Thanks for that." She said sarcastically. "Almost fucking burnt me to a crisp, not to mention thousands of others." The vegetables were moved into their new home with more force than was probably necessary.

"I didn't mean to." He tossed the decimated chicken carcass into the bin. Pieces of it refused to come off of the pan.

"Doesn't matter." She shrugged. It really didn't. Nothing they could do about it now but remember the fallen and move on.

"There's a lot more of you out in the world now Max, they're going to need help. Maybe even be dangerous to the rest of the population." It was a valid concern. She glared at him anyway.

"We'll take care of our own." Like she was doing with Pip, her mind said. "Can you look out for signs of transgenics in trouble though?"

"Of course. What about Eyes Only missions?" She arched her eyebrow.

"Our quid pro quo?" It was a bit of a sore subject being that there was very little quid for quite a lot of quo thus far. Time to pay the piper, she thought and smiled rather contemptuously.

He swallowed. "I uh, I guess."

"I have a kid now." Shrugging, Max moved both containers, sauce and veggies, into the fridge as he filled the sink.

"Well Max…" She turned to face him, head on, with hard eyes and thin lips.

"You want me to do legwork, you watch Pip."

"Pip? Here? Uh Max, I don't think that's such a good idea." He tried to backtrack, not liking this latest development.

"Me neither," she shrugged and popped a piece of gum into her mouth. "But really what choice does either of us have?"

He sighed, resigned. Their 'relationship' was back to square one. Quid pro quo and long-standing tension, not necessarily pleasant tension either.

"Not much of one."

"Nope." She blew a large bubble.

"I still think we can get through this, be together."

POP

Her face was covered in bubble gum. Apparently that was a turn-off. He sighed exasperatedly.

"I should get back," she said slowly, peeling the sticky substance off of her delicate features.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I've got to finish the clean up."

"Dishes," she stated scornfully. "I know how much you enjoy dishes."

"Right." He fixed his glasses again. Not that there was anything wrong with them this time. It was just a nervous habit he'd never been able to break.

"Catch you later." She offered casually.

"Right. Later." She walked out the door, smacking happily on her gum. He sighed, and got started on the dishes. Burnt chicken was stuck to the pan, and the rice pilaf had probably ruined the pot. For some reason, that was not how this meal was supposed to go.


	9. Back to Normal

A/N: OK. Wow. I'm on a roll. Three chapters in a week. You should all be proud. I know I am. The next chapter might be a while in coming, I'm warning you in advance. But Alec will be in it. So end me all your lovely reviews as encouragement. And let's try to beat out the 5 reviews for the last chapter. I believe in you guys. You can do it!

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The next day was a test. A hugely important, unstoppable test. Max knew this and had prepared accordingly. Every aspect had been thought out, every contingency plan made, she was as primed as she was ever going to get. It was time to resume her life. It was time… to go back to Normal. Normal was gonna be soo pissed.

She'd thought that they'd planned for everything the day before; when upon opening the door to go and getting a good look at Pip she realized that she'd forgotten the most obvious thing.

"Oh and Pip, if anyone asks about your hair, there was a… massive… bubblegum problem."

Nodding her head once, Original Cindy agreed with Max's assessment. The hair had to be explained. The little group left the apartment complex laughing.

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"Max! Max is that you?" Sketchy was the first to spot her as she walked through the doors of Jam Pony with Original Cindy and Pip in tow. When she grinned mischievously in response to Sketchy's outburst, he knew it was true; she was real, _alive_ and back. Then came the resounding chorus of the other messengers. She was sucked up into a crowd of hugs and fist bumps and all around joyousness. The queen of their little hive was back.

"Where the hell have you been?" Called a messenger in the back. Skye maybe, Max wasn't sure. She was surrounded. No one had noticed the toddler hanging around her feet.

"Oh god, it's a long story" She waved the question away. Time enough to get into that. OC was pushed up against her right side, and she could feel Pip's little fingers clutching onto her left leg.

"Why didn't you call?"

"I tried…"

"We thought you were dead!" She was interrupted by Sketchy's accusation.

"Well the rumours of my death have obviously been greatly exaggerated." Max laughed genuinely, a hearty, full bodied laugh.

Before they could get too distracted from their packages, a voice called from further inside the building, from the sorting desk to be exact.

"Well, well, well. Lookie here what the kitty cat dragged in. If you think, for one blinking minute Missy Miss…"

"Oh man, Normal's pissed." Sketchy whispered in her ear.

So he was. She sighed. Red hot, flaming mad. But then again, he always had been.

"Don't worry Sketch, I have a secret weapon." She whispered back, half afraid, half amused. She scooped Pip up in her arms and walked up to the dispatch desk…

"Normal, I want you to meet my daughter." Max cut of the tirade that was no doubt heading her way and held out her 'little bundle of joy' for the man to inspect, almost like a shield. She smirked.

The room was silent for a full moment until the shrill sound of "Bip, Bip Bip. I'm not paying you to stand around listening to gossip. Now go!" erupted throughout Jam Pony.

"Come again girly." Max chuckled as everyone scattered about their business of not doing any real work and trying to listen in without getting yelled at. She wished she was doing that as well. Now she had to explain. She grimaced.

"Normal, this is Pip. My daughter."

"Nice to meet you Pip."

"Nice to meet you too sir" Normal did a double take, eyes widening at the words coming from the tiny thing. Max put her down and motioned her over towards Original Cindy.

"How old is…?"

"Three."

"Well she's…"

"Advanced for her age. Yes."

"And she's been…"

"With my sister, her husband and child."

"Who is now…?"

"Dead." Max sighed. "That's why I left so abruptly. I got a call about a 'family emergency'. She's dead, a brother too. They were in the hospital for a while. It was all very hard."

"Oh."

"So she's with me now. And I need to be able to bring her to work." Max brought out her sweet little girl face. A hopeful smile here, big innocent eyes there, with a little blinking like a wild deer. Men were suckers for that sort of thing.

"Why not get a babysitter or day-care facility?" She scoffed. Okay not Normal. She rolled her eyes at him.

"With what you pay?" Max started and then remembering herself, tried for the truth. "I… I just don't really trust anyone else with her right now." The frank and honest statement surprised him. Missy Miss was usually anything but open and honest. She'd always had that look about her eyes, the look of someone who'd come from some great misfortune and survived. Never talked about it though. More likely to beat you for asking.

"I'm not exactly sure how to do this Normal. So I'm asking for your help. I know I've never been upfront and honest about stuff before, but this isn't about me." Max looked at Pip, smiling softly. "It's about her. So can I bring her to work with me? She can come out on runs; it'll be good for her, fresh air and all. Plus it means that she'll get more time with me. You know, mother-child bonding." The truth of her words was plain on her face and Normal conceded that his Missy Miss was really asking for help.

"So, she's why you've been absent and tardy frequently?" Normal asked archly.

"Yes sir." He caught the shadow of a twitch in the left corner of her upper lip. As if he wasn't onto every one of the silly thing's lies. He rolled his eyes at her. If the lip twitch didn't, the 'sir' would have given it away. He was certain she'd never been respectful to anyone a day in her life.

"Liar."

"Usually." She conceded with a mischievous grin and fluttered her eyelashes in mocking innocence. He watched her face suspiciously with narrowed eyes. Pip walked back to her mother and reached for her.

"Up." Pip demanded. Max brought her to rest on her hip, in the pose known to mothers everywhere. Pip smiled innocently at Normal. Helpful little thing.

"Fine." He declared. "But keep in mind this is just until you find some other, more suitable arrangement. And it had better be soon." He grumbled in his usual semblance of annoyance. Max smiled beautifully. The deal was made. Neither one said it, but Pip could stay as long as she wanted.

"And just what is 'Pip' short for anyway, Missy Miss?"

"Pip Squeak!" Pip said earnestly. Max choked a little. This was a question she should've been expecting. Damn.

It wasn't like she could tell him even a half-truth. She could picture it now. 'No. She's right. It IS short for Pip Squeak. You see, in my family we have this… tradition, of not naming the children until they're old enough to name themselves. And well, one day, I was having a rather heated discussion with… someone, about which, uh…affectionate names were appropriate and… well she liked Pip Squeak.' Right. That'd go down well. Back to reality…

"Uh, Pip… Pi…Penelope!" The moment the word escaped her mouth Max cringed. Oh god, she thought. Alec was right. I do suck with names.

Normal looked at her approvingly

"Well, that is a very beautiful name for a very beautiful little girl." Max stifled the urge to throw up. It appeared her offspring lacked all sense when it came to character, because Pip just beamed up at Normal in pleasure.

"Thank you Sir." She preened a little, and then buried her head in Max's neck. Max rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't know how you did it Missy Miss, but this little one seems to have inherited none of your bad attitude."

Coming from Normal, a higher compliment than that couldn't be paid.


End file.
